Five interesting things that Hodges Capital research analysts discovered this week...

#1 ELECTIONS 2024: According to Strategas, national elections will occur in countries representing more than 40% of the world’s population and 80% of the global stock market capitalization in 2024. Furthermore, incumbent politicians will be highly incentivized to keep their economies out of a recession this year to improve their reelection chances.

#2 ISM DATA: The headline Institute for Supply Management (ISM) Manufacturing Index demonstrated improvement in December by 0.70% to 48.6%. However, the index stayed below 50%, suggesting a contraction in domestic manufacturing across 16 reporting industries.

#3 BIG APPLE HOTEL RATES: New York City’s ban on Airbnb has driven up hotel rates by reducing it as a competitor. The New York Post reported that the average hotel room has increased by almost 20% during Thanksgiving weekend to $530/night based on Trivago’s Hotel Price Index.

#4 Gun Ownership: A recent NBC News survey indicates that 52% of Americans say they or someone in their household owns a gun, which is up 6% from 2019 and represents a record high.

#5 RESTAURANT TRAFFIC: As reported by Hedgeye, December casual dining traffic ended down 2.0% year-over-year, with the two-year average landing at (0.6%) a full 3.0% improvement month-over-month

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